Methods And Systems For Expense Management

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for expense management, comprising: retrieving at least one electronic feed of charges for multiple expense receipt records directly from at least one lodging and/or transportation vendor, the at least one feed of charges including computer-readable electronic transaction data; detecting that at least one expense receipt record from the multiple expense receipt records from the at least one feed of charges is comprised of two or more line items; mapping the two or more line items to at least one transportation and/or lodging good and/or service that is chargeable to at least one account identifier, the mapping utilizing vendor expense codes and/or keyword searches; and pre-populating the at least one transportation and/or lodging good and/or service mapped to each of the two or more line items from the at least one expense receipt record in at least one expense report in at least one expense management system as two or more expense itemizations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/728,838 filed Dec. 27, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/671,770 filed Aug. 8, 2017, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/117,303 filed May27, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/159,398, filed Jun. 23, 2005, which claims priority from U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/581,766, filed Jun. 23, 2004. Theentirety of the foregoing applications are incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of expense reporting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates the primary components of a representative operatingenvironment, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method of expense management, according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3-6 are exemplary screen shots, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an expense management system 100, according to oneembodiment of the present invention. Expense management system 100imports trusted itemized data and maps the data to defined expensetypes. The expense management system 100 comprises: storage units 110and 115; a mapping program 120; an audit program 130; and a userinterface 125.

FIG. 1 depicts storage units 110 and 115. However, these storage unitsare combinable in other embodiments. Storage unit 110 contains trusteditemized expense data, which is transmitted or obtained from any trustedsource (e.g., credit card companies or any vendor that provides receiptsin an electronic form). It should be noted that either all of theexpense data or just a portion of the expense data can be itemized.Expense data can come in a form that identifies the location of thepurchase, the amount of the total transaction, the amount and writtendescription of the itemized sub-transactions, and a system-specific codewhich also describes or categorizes the sub-transactions. Storage unit110 stores a master expense type list containing the complete domain ofpossible expense types utilized in expense management system 100.Expense types are associated with an identifier, a description, ageneral ledger or other accounting code, a list of data fields to besupplied on the expense report, or corporate policy information, or anycombination thereof.

Company specific data to be utilized by expense management system 100 isstored in storage unit 115. Companies can select a sub-domain from thedomain of the master expense type list. This sub-domain is typicallyderived from company needs in relation to control or accounting polices,or tax considerations. For additional mapping purposes, other codes oridentifiers can be attached to the expense types in the sub-domain tofacilitate various company functions. For example, an accounting code oridentifier can be assigned to an expense type to allow the expensereport to be imported into other company reports. Storage unit 115 alsostores expense reports after and during processing by mapping program120.

Mapping program 120 maps the trusted itemized expense data, stored instorage unit 110, to the domain of expense types selected by a companyusing expense management system 100. Prior to mapping expense data, theprogram correlates vendor expense codes to company-selected expensetypes. The correlation can match any number of expense codes to anynumber of expense types, and the program is customizable to incorporatecorporate policies, desires and/or tax considerations. To perform themapping operation, the expense codes assigned to the expense data can beread from the trusted source, or a vendor (e.g., hotel or rental carcompany), for each expense, itemized or not, and then the correlatedexpense types are assigned to each expense.

To facilitate mapping accuracy, one embodiment utilizes a filteringsystem that searches for key words in the trusted data (e.g., the filtersearches expense descriptions in the trusted data for the key word“Internet” because some vendors use the same numerical expense code fortelephone and Internet charges). The filter is customizable to cater tothe weaknesses or idiosyncrasies of each trusted source or vendor, whichin turn can improve overall system performance when more than onetrusted source is providing expense data.

In one embodiment, the user interface 125 allows for at least two typesof users. (However, in another embodiment, only one type of user canalso be used in user interface 125.) First, company accountants/managers(“managers”) provide expense management system 100 with company-specificinformation, which is then stored in storage unit 115. As discussedsupra, managers can pick expense types from the master list of expensetypes to utilize, which when selected constitute the domain of expensetypes available to expense management system 100 for mapping purposes.Also, managers can assign additional data to the expense types tofacilitate other company specific functions (e.g., company specificaccounting codes can be assigned to the expense types to facilitateimporting mapped expense data to other company systems). Managers alsointeract with expense management unit system 100 through auditingprogram 130.

Second, employees or travelers (e.g., those receiving the goods listedin the itemized expense data) primarily interface with expensemanagement system 100 by editing and approving the mapped expense data,which is used to generate the final approved expense report.Additionally, expense management system 100 is customizable to allowemployees to manually change the expense type assigned to importedexpense data, or to allow employees to manually enter in expense datathat was not or could not be imported by expense management system 100though the trusted source.

In one embodiment, an audit program 130 allows managers to control andapprove corrections made by employees to the mapped expense data. Whenan employee makes a change to the mapped expense data (e.g., byassigning the itemized expense data to a different expense types orcorrecting a line item amount), the change is flagged for auditing. Thisflagging process can happen in a number of ways with similar results. Inone embodiment, to identify the changed mapping or transaction amounts,expense management system 100 will save a copy of the original mappedexpense data and compare it with user-changed data. Thus, changes madeoutside the automated mapping process provided by expense managementsystem 100 are scrutinized ensuring greater accuracy and preventingfraud. Auditing program 130 is customizable (e.g., programmed withtolerances or filters) to enable the system to only flag changes thatmeet (or do not meet) selected criterion (e.g., changes that are greaterthan a certain percentage or that map expense line items to the“personal” expense type will automatically be approved).

FIG. 2 illustrates a method of expense management, according to oneembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is explained in the contextof purchases made with a hotel or car rental company. These examples inno way limit the applicability of the novel systems and methodsdisclosed herein.

In step 205, purchase(s) are made by an individual or entity (e.g.,employee, traveler), who will eventually be responsible to submit anexpense report accounting for the purchase(s). Although any individualor entity can be used in the example embodiment of FIG. 2, an employeewill be used for demonstration purposes. Those skilled in the art willrecognize that any individual or entity can use the present invention.

In one embodiment, the employee charges various expenses to a companycredit card. In a hotel example, an employee purchases lodging, personaltelephone calls, business telephone calls, mini-bar items, room service,meals at the hotel restaurant, Internet use, valet service, etc. Thehotel purchases are made with a company assigned credit card, which isissued by a credit card company that has an agreement with the hotel toprovide trusted itemized expense data.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that there are other methods ofpayment that could be used. The credit card vendors (e.g., MasterCard,Visa, American Express, Diners, etc.) provide data feeds to theircustomers containing information about all transactions involving thecredit cards issued to the employees at their company. Those skilled inthe art will recognize that there are other sources for data feeds,including the merchants themselves. The data feeds are typicallyelectronic text files. The degree of detail contained may vary by datafeed, as the credit card vendors typically have different data feedproducts and products with more detail may cost more to obtain. Within agiven electronic text file, the level of detail may vary fromtransaction to transaction as not all merchants provide the same levelof detail to the credit card vendors about purchases made by travelers.In one embodiment, certain data feed products would include hotelportfolio data (i.e., line-item detail breaking down the individualexpenses on hotel receipts), referred to as sub-transactions, from hotelmerchants who choose to participate in the providing such detail. Itshould be noted that expense management system 100 is still operative ifonly some, or even none, of the expense data is broken intosub-transactions. Those skilled in the art will understand that theexact format of the electronic text files may vary and that there aremany other possible methods of transmission.

In step 210, the trusted itemized expense data is sent to expensemanagement system 100. In one embodiment, the expense management system10 imports electronic text with transaction data and analyzes it toidentify the employees who charged each of the transactions. Thus, afterthe employee's trip is over, the employer receives an electronic datastream of the expense data (some of which has been broken intosub-transactions), which is then fed into expense management system 100.

In step 211, at some point in the process, the employee gains access tothe system and sees a list of corporate card charges ready to beimported. For example, the employee could see a list of charges on hiscorporate credit card, some of which are from hotels that have anagreement to provide sub-transaction data to the company through thecorporate credit card. FIG. 3 is an example screen shot illustratingcredit card data, according to one embodiment of the invention. The usercan review sub-transaction data from hotels or other sources that haveagreed to provide such data. In one embodiment, the user can place hismouse icon over such charges in order to see the sub-transactions (lineitems). In the hotel example, these sub-transactions should match thereceipt that the user received upon check-out from the hotel. FIG. 4illustrates an example of such sub-transaction data, according to oneembodiment of the invention.

It should be noted that, in one embodiment, step 211 is optional, andthe expense report may be automatically generated. For example, expensereports could be automatically generated on a periodic basis fromcorporate card data because a certain entity had many employees withoutInternet access.

It should also be noted that expense reports serve multiple purposesincluding, but not limited to, allowing the employee to be reimbursedfor approved out-of-pocket expenses incurred during business travel.Expense management tools often include the capability of automaticallypaying credit card bills for company-issued credit cards. Employees arealso often liable for expenses charged to these company-issued creditcards that are not approved by the employer or not authorized by companyprocedure. Thus, employees often include expenses from company-issuedcredit cards in their expense reports to obtain the required approvaland to automate payment.

In step 215, expense management system 100 reads the expense codes inthe expense data and maps all possible line items to their appropriateexpense types. In step 211, the employee has imported charges that needto be reimbursed for a particular expense report. As shown in FIG. 6, inimporting charges with sub-transaction data, such as a hotel charge, thecharge comes into the expense report already broken down. With a hotelexample, the hotel room comes in designated as a hotel expense, the twophone calls come in designated as telephone/fax, the restaurant comes indesignated as a meal, and the movie (which is not reimbursable undercompany policy), comes in designated as personal. This procedure hassaved time for the employee and increased accuracy, as people ofteneither mis-key their receipt entry, or choose not to include certainitemizations because it is too time-consuming. These decisions can bedetrimental to a company. For example, a company may not be able tofully take deductions for certain items (e.g., meals) that are taxed asa beneficial rate.

Note that in setting up expense management system 100, the company hasselected expense types to utilize (e.g., based on internal controls andpolicies, tax requirements). For example, the line item for the lodgingexpense is assigned the expense code “395,” which correlates to theexpense type “travel-lodging,” which is one of the expense types thecompany using expense management system 100 selected from the masterexpense type list.

In the rental car example, the rental car company charges the employeefor the daily rental car rate, insurance, over mileage fee, refueling,etc. Instead of using a credit card to record and transmit the expensedata 210, as illustrated in the hotel example, the rental car companyhas an arrangement with the employer (or a service that manages expensesfor the employer) to send expense data directly to them in the form oftrusted receipts. Is should be noted that almost all vendors, not justrental car companies or hotels, have the potential to provide electronictrusted receipts. Although the data from these receipts are differentfrom that of the trusted expense data feeds from the credit cardcompanies, expense management system 100 can still process this trustedreceipts in a similar way—mapping the itemized expenses to appropriateexpense types.

In one embodiment, expense management system 100 maintains a master listof expense types. Company accountants or managers choose from this listof expense types when creating a domain of expense types that will beused by the company or a department in the company. Those skilled in theart will recognize that an expense management system could containmultiple master lists of expense types, and that different groups ofusers within a company could use different lists. When expense items areimported the expense management system chooses the expense type based onsemantic information added to each expense type on the master list. Thissemantic type information could be an integer code.

In one embodiment, semantic information can be added to all expensetypes. In other embodiments, semantic information can be added to only asubset of expense types, or no expense types at all. The user candetermine which embodiment best fits the user's needs. For example, ifthe user has an expense in their system for “equipment repair”, this isnot an expense type that is returned by any of the hotel providers, soit would never get a hotel semantic term. However, if the trustedsource, such as a rental car provider, does have the expense type“equipment repair”, then this expense would get a rental car providersemantic term.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that there are many methods forstoring semantic information. The semantic information provides amapping between the possible list of types for the sub-transactions andthe expense types in the expense management system. For example, thesemantic information could indicate which expense type is to be usedwhen importing a telephone charge, or an in-room movie. When asub-transaction is imported, the type information from thatsub-transaction is cross-referenced with the list of expense types totry to find an expense type with semantic information indicating that itis the correct type to use for this type of sub-transaction. If a matchis found then the line item is imported with this type. For example, anInternet charge could be designated by the hotel as a phone chargeexpense type. However, a semantic search of the sub-transaction wouldreveal the word Internet to show that the Internet charge was for theInternet and not the phone.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary screen shot illustrating how expense types areassociated with semantics, according to one embodiment of the invention.The expense type is “personal”. The semantics associated with personalexpenses include gift shop, mini-bar, and movies, according to thisparticular company's policies.

In a further embodiment, the expense management system maintains amaster list of accounting codes, including but not necessarily limitedto cost centers, general ledger codes, and project codes. End users maychoose from this list of accounting codes when creating expenses. Thesystem may be configured to restrict the codes that a given user mayuse. Those skilled in the art will recognize that perhaps no codes areused for a given expense, but on other expenses multiple codes may benecessary. When an expense transaction is imported and the expensemanagement system detects that this transaction has been assigned tomultiple accounting codes, the accounting code information stored on thesub-transactions can be read and then used to choose the values for thecorresponding expense items on the expense report. The billing codesinclude, but are not limited to, cost centers (e.g., marketingdepartment), a project (e.g., a particular matter), and an identifierthat maps to a classification used in a company's accounting system(e.g., an air ticket may be designated differently from lodging for taxpurposes).

In step 225, the employee is able to edit and approve the expense dataand mapping. If an expense is mapped to more than one expense type, thenthe employee can select the appropriate type from the available options.If no expense type or the wrong type is assigned, then the employee canchange the assigned expense type. For example, when the employee reviewsthe mapped hotel expense data, he or she realizes that the personaltelephone calls have been included with the business telephone expenseand mapped to the “travel-phone” expense type. To correct the error, theemployee is able to edit this expense and parse the business from thepersonal calls and, in addition, the employee maps the personaltelephone calls to the “personal” expense type. When the employee hasreviewed all the expenses and assigned expense types where needed, theemployee can approve, or sign off on, the mapped data.

In step 230, expense management system 100 is optionally able to auditthe expense report. Expense management system 100 contains an auditmodule that can automatically compare the original transactions andsub-transactions from the data feed with the expenses actually submittedto detect differences between the two. For example, if a hotel receiptcontained $100 for a room, $50 for meals and $10 for an in-room movie,but the expense report contains $100 for the room and $60 for meals, theaudit module would detect this. Those skilled in the art will recognizethat there are many ways to implement such an audit module including,but not limited to, a database query that compares relational databaseentries containing the expense reports and the original transactions andsub-transactions. Those skilled in the art will recognize that there aremany ways to present the information regarding the expense reports whichdeviate from the data feed, such as in tabular format on-screen or in aspreadsheet file which can be read by an application such as MicrosoftExcel.

In one embodiment, the audit module can be configured to have tolerancesor filters, which can automatically approve a difference between theexpense report and the imported data because the difference meets theprogrammed criteria. A zero-tolerance program would present all reportsthat differ by any amount, whereas a 1 percent tolerance would presentreports where the difference is greater than 1 percent. Those skilled inthe art will recognize that tolerances or filters can be presented informs other than percentages.

When an employee changes an expense amount or mapping, expensemanagement system 100 flags this change for auditing. This flagging canbe performed in several ways, as one skilled in the art will recognize.One embodiment, for example, saves the original imported trusted expensedata and compares this with the data approved by the employee submittingthe expense report and expense management system 100 notes, or flags,all discrepancies.

Additionally, according to company controls, certain expense types orcharges can be flagged for auditing, even if a change has not been madeto the line item (e.g., if company policies forbid reimbursement formini-bar or valet charges, then every time these expenses appear, theycan be flagged for auditing). Expense management system 100 can performthe auditing function either manually or automatically through aprogrammed filter or tolerance, or through a combination or both. Forexample, expense management system 100 can be programmed toautomatically approve all changes that are mapped to the “personal”expense type.

In step 235, after the report has been sufficiently audited (if thisfeature is used), then it becomes an approved expense report. In step240, the approved expense report is used in myriad accounting andcompany functions.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. In fact, after reading the above description, it will beapparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement theinvention in alternative embodiments. Thus, the present invention shouldnot be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments. Inparticular, it should be noted that, for example purposes, the aboveexplanation has focused on the example of a hotel charge. However, thoseexperienced in the art will realize that any charge withsub-transactions (e.g., a rental car charge) can be used.

In addition, it should be understood that the figures and screen shots,which highlight the functionality and advantages of the presentinvention, are presented for example purposes only. The architecture ofthe present invention is sufficiently flexible and configurable, suchthat it may be utilized in ways other than that shown in theaccompanying figures. For example, the steps in the flowchart can bere-ordered or optionally used in some embodiments.

Further, the purpose of the Abstract of the Disclosure is to enable theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, andespecially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art whoare not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determinequickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of thetechnical disclosure of the application. The Abstract of the Disclosureis not intended to be limiting as to the scope of the present inventionin any way.

1. A computerized method for expense management of expenses, comprising:determining a mapping of a set of expense types to a set of expenses inan expense receipt record; receiving from a client device a modificationto the mapping of the set of expense types to the set of expenses in theexpense receipt record; determining whether expenses in the modifiedmapping of the set of expense types to the set of expenses is to beaudited; and flagging the expenses in the modified mapping of the set ofexpense types to the set of expenses determined to be audited.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: saving a copy of the mapping ofthe set of expense types to the set of expenses in the expense receiptrecord; comparing the copy of the mapping of the set of expense types tothe set of expenses in the expense receipt record and the modifiedversion of the mapping of the mapping of the set of expense types to theset of expenses in the expense receipt record; and based on thecomparison, identifying a set of changes to the mapping of the set ofexpense types to the set of expenses in the expense receipt record. 3.The method of claim 2 further comprising determining that a change inthe set of changes satisfies a criterion in a set of defined criterion.4. The method of claim 3, wherein the set of defined criterion comprisesa change to a value that is greater than a defined percentage.
 5. Themethod of claim 2 further comprising determining that a change in theset of changes does not satisfy a criterion in a set of definedcriterion.
 6. The method of claim 5 further comprising, based ondetermining that the change in the set of changes satisfies thecriterion in the set of defined criterion, approving the change in theset of changes.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising: determiningthat the set of expenses comprises an expense to which a defined expensetype is mapped; and flagging the expense for auditing.
 8. Anon-transitory machine-readable medium storing a program executable byat least one processing unit of a device, the program comprising a setof instructions for: determining a mapping of a set of expense types toa set of expenses in an expense receipt record; receiving from a clientdevice a modification to the mapping of the set of expense types to theset of expenses in the expense receipt record; determining whetherexpenses in the modified mapping of the set of expense types to the setof expenses is to be audited; and flagging the expenses in the modifiedmapping of the set of expense types to the set of expenses determined tobe audited.
 9. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 8,wherein the set of instructions comprises instructions for: saving acopy of the mapping of the set of expense types to the set of expensesin the expense receipt record; comparing the copy of the mapping of theset of expense types to the set of expenses in the expense receiptrecord and the modified version of the mapping of the mapping of the setof expense types to the set of expenses in the expense receipt record;and based on the comparison, identifying a set of changes to the mappingof the set of expense types to the set of expenses in the expensereceipt record.
 10. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim9, wherein the set of instructions comprises instructions fordetermining that a change in the set of changes satisfies a criterion ina set of defined criterion.
 11. The non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 10, wherein the set of defined criterion comprises achange to a value that is greater than a defined percentage.
 12. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the set ofinstructions comprises instructions for determining that a change in theset of changes does not satisfy a criterion in a set of definedcriterion.
 13. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 12,wherein the set of instructions comprises instructions for, based ondetermining that the change in the set of changes satisfies thecriterion in the set of defined criterion, approving the change in theset of changes.
 14. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim8, wherein the set of instructions comprises instructions for:determining that the set of expenses comprises an expense to which adefined expense type is mapped; and flagging the expense for auditing.15. A system, comprising: one or more processors; a software programcomprising instructions executable on said one or more processors, thesoftware program configured for: determining a mapping of a set ofexpense types to a set of expenses in an expense receipt record;receiving from a client device a modification to the mapping of the setof expense types to the set of expenses in the expense receipt record;determining whether expenses in the modified mapping of the set ofexpense types to the set of expenses is to be audited; and flagging theexpenses in the modified mapping of the set of expense types to the setof expenses determined to be audited.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the software program is further configured for: saving a copy ofthe mapping of the set of expense types to the set of expenses in theexpense receipt record; comparing the copy of the mapping of the set ofexpense types to the set of expenses in the expense receipt record andthe modified version of the mapping of the mapping of the set of expensetypes to the set of expenses in the expense receipt record; and based onthe comparison, identifying a set of changes to the mapping of the setof expense types to the set of expenses in the expense receipt record.17. The system of claim 16, wherein the software program is furtherconfigured for determining that a change in the set of changes satisfiesa criterion in a set of defined criterion.
 18. The system of claim 17,wherein the set of defined criterion comprises a change to a value thatis greater than a defined percentage.
 19. The system of claim 16,wherein the software program is further configured for determining thata change in the set of changes does not satisfy a criterion in a set ofdefined criterion.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the softwareprogram is further configured for, based on determining that the changein the set of changes satisfies the criterion in the set of definedcriterion, approving the change in the set of changes.